ci.skeptic Subject: Re: TRANCENET ALERT: WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT TM CRISIS Date: 13 Jun 1996

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Subject: Re: TRANCENET ALERT: WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT TM CRISIS
From: jmknapp@crl.com (John M. Knapp)
Date: 13 Jun 1996 07:12:43 GMT
more details and continuous bulletins on the Maharishi's bizarre
prediction of imminent global biological war at http://www.trancenet.org
[*]John FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Knapp on the
History of SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- June 12, 1996
Crisis in
the TM "Look, the Maharishi has had one crisis after
Movement another since the first Year of the World Plan in
1972. So what's the big deal?"
Maharishi's extravagant claims for impending doom
have steadily escalated for 40 years. In the 50s,
he hinted that only TM could avert nuclear war. He
"Up until framed "National campaigns" to initiate mass
the moment numbers of citizens into TM in Nepal, the
that gunfire Philippines, Nigeria, Israel, the former USSR,
broke out in Mozambique, Brazil, and elsewhere to avert
Guyana, Jim national calamities, war, famine, and pestilence.
Jones was
considered a He threatened us that failure to institute his
fine World Plan would begin World War III in the 70s.
humanitarian World War III reared its ugly head again in the
-- perhaps 80s, unless permanent communities of 7,000 --
at worst a later 10,000 -- TMers weren't assembled
little immediately, financed by government funds.
foolish."
Why does the Maharishi make these incessant
demands for ever greater commitment by TMers?
The Maharishi has an endemic problem on his hands.
[Image] "Enlightenment," "flying," the "Age of
Back to Enlightenment" and other miracles stubbornly
"TranceNet: refuse to arrive.
Emergency
Alert" The Maharishi promised enlightenment in a few
months during the 50s. When it failed to develop
for his followers, he blamed the low state of
"world consciousness" and began a World Tour that
he claimed would bring peace through meditation
within 10 years. He also introduced "advanced
techniques" to speed evolution -- at a price.
When world peace didn't arrive in 10 years, at
first he announced his retirement, his mission a
failure. But when the Beatles breathed life into
his tiny movement, he decided he had
underestimated Western stress and in the 70s
announced that the World Plan would bring
enlightenment to everyone within 3 to 5 years, if
everyone became a TM teacher at $5,000 a head.
In the late 70s, he promised the sidhis, or
supernormal powers, would bring full enlightenment
within a single 6 month course -- for another
$3,000.
When the sidhis failed to bring enlightenment or
levitation, he blamed the "impurity" of TMers
lives and made a big push for celibacy and living
in groups only with other meditators -- while
quietly investing in "sidha land" real estate
deals.
In the early 80s, he "discovered" that Western
medicine had failed and only if TMers discovered
Ayur Veda treatments -- priced at thousands of
dollars per year -- would they ever become
enlightened.
And all these little crises helped distribute the
wealth around his world-wide empire.
The Indian TM movement needs an influx of cash?
Suddenly there's a global need for a course in
India. A faltering resort becomes available
overseas at a ridiculously low price? Fine,
there's an immediate need for TM Governors to
travel to a Baltic nation to avert war. And so
forth. (Billy Clayton even suggested that the
Maharishi instituted the famous "Thursday fasts"
back in the 70s when his accountant pointed out
how much money this would save his courses and
capitals.
Former TM teachers have talked about transporting
suitcases of cash, electronic equipment, records,
and other sensitive material across international
borders when asked to by TM course leaders. A
quick check will show that often two overseas
courses are run side by side. One in a country
with strong currency, while the neighbor's
currency is weak. How odd.
These crises also allow the Maharishi a chance to
test the loyalty of his leadership. Charlie Lutes,
Jerry Jarvis, Lawrence Domash, Deepak Chopra, and
other former leaders were all escorted out of the
movement when they became embarrassed by the
extravagant claims the Maharishi made for the
"latest wave of knowledge." While those of us who
stayed behind felt smug in our superior devotion
to the Master -- as we bounced on our butts, ate
feces-contaminated pills, and wasted our lives and
fortunes on Maharishi's ever more crazy dreams.
No one should dismiss the very real dangers of
biological wars and genetic manipulation. But no
one should confuse these important issues with the
delusions of a madman leading blindly devoted
followers into isolated camps to await a
holocaust.
If there's one thing we've learned from Jonestown,
Aum Shinrikyo, Waco, Solar Temple, et al, it is
that doomsday scenarios are absolute pressure
cookers for the true believers involved.
No matter what the Maharishi's motives are -- he
may after all be pure as the driven snow -- this
is a very dangerous situation.
We at TranceNet have received several reports of
TMers selling homes, breaking up families, and so
forth to go wait out the "biological war" due
within weeks.
Up until the moment that gunfire broke out at
Jonestown, Jim Jones was considered a fine
humanitarian -- perhaps at worst a little foolish.
(As fate would have it, the Guyana massacre
happened during my Teacher Training Phase III. I
remember we all held our breath when the TV
anchorman announced a massacre among a religious
community in Central America. Was he talking about
the Maharishi's World Peace Project? Many of us
had TM governor friends in Central America at that
very moment, rounding to save the world from
nuclear disaster.)
CONTACT: trancenet.org
John M. Knapp, Executive Director
707.996.5560
trance@lightlink.com
http://www.trancenet.org
(C) Copyright 1996, John M. Knapp. All rights
reserved.
--
John M. Knapp, Editor, TranceNet, http://www.trancenet.org
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